CAP1 - Part 12.5b - (Pre-Evo Stat Spread Poll 2)

This poll will determine the combination of abilities that CAP1's pre-evolution will have. This will be a bold vote, which means that you can vote for only one of the poll's options.

The following are options for this poll:

zyrefredricDeck Knight
Nails

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Many of these spreads were determined by calculations and competitive forethought, despite that PreCAP1 is purely founded in flavor. I think this is important, as otherwise we risk creating a superpowered behemoth for the LC metagame, which would not be good. Anyway, let's get this moving, and remember: This is a purely flavor segment of the CAP; CAP1's pre-evo will be banned during playtest, so don't assume that anything decided here will change the playtest in any way.

Here are the slated submissions in order of survival from the last poll:

I am expecting that this rule (or the absence thereof) may lead to CAP pre-evos with relatively high BSTs, so i figured to do a little checking on current game data. I compiled a list of pre-evos of two-stage pokemon with the highest BSTs, presented below:

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* pokemon that evolved at a later generation
** fossil pokemon
*** a pre-evo of an old gen pokemon

As you can notice, most of them are pokemon that evolved at a later generation. Most pre-evo BSTs range around 350 or lower. Ponyta way up there is a weird case though. I never knew it had that high BST before evolving. I was hoping to suggest a pre-evo BST range/limit, but Ponyta alone makes my whole argument moot, so I guess it really just depends on the submissions and TL discretion then. ^^ I personally opted for 350, same as Growlithe and Buneary.

First thing to notice is how the pre-evo has a high attack (85 Atk) but abysmal special attack (20 SpA). I envision the pre-evo to be a fierce warrior cub, incapable of using arcane spells, but skilled in physical combat. Only after evolving into Tomohawk does it gain magic capabilities.

Even with a low BST of 350, you may notice that the PS, PT and ST are quite high. This is due to the low SpA, so you can say that my proposed stat spread is optimized to be a physical attacker.

Last thoughts:
I get the feeling that this Pre-evo stage in CAP is more for the LC players. But with eviolite, a pre-evo with this stat spread can be put to good use in the current metagame. I have no clear experience with Little Cup, so please advise me if this stat spread would make a broken defensive behemoth in LC.

Our prevo doesn't have its wings yet, but it's got a pretty good fighting spirit (Scrappy) so it's speed is middling. It's got a pretty good special attack, but it's HP is too high for it to abuse 19HP Life Orb. Considering that with Scrappy, Normal + Fighting is unresisted STAB, this is an acceptable balance. Our prevo is resistant to Sucker Punch and theoretically gets Vacuum Wave, so it should be just fine. Vacuum Wave/Aura Sphere/Hyper Voice/Hidden Power (Ice/Fire/Psy/Flying) should work quite nicely as a Scrappy set.

Offensive: Timid; 36 HP, 236 SpA, 236 Spd; EVs unaffected by HP Ice; Gives 23/9/13/16/12/17, giving it similar offensive power to Houndour stat-wise (one less SpA point and the same speed). However, it has far lower base power on its attacks, and far worse super effective coverage than Houndour, and would likely not carry a life orb.

Aura Sphere vs Eviolite Scraggy - 19-22 - A small chance for a ohko after stealth rock. It has a 50% chance to ohko with modest, and with a life orb and timid Scraggy has a very small chance of living Aura Sphere without rocks. I feel that Scraggy should be a check to Minihawk (it can DD and then ohko with Drain Punch), so I tried to avoid the ohko on Scraggy, while also allowing Minihawk to bypass Scraggy, at the cost of a speed point or a significant amount of bulk.

Scrappy Aura Sphere vs Offensive Misdreavus - 15-17 - Never a ohko. Does not 2hko on average if Misdreavus has an Oran Berry, however it's almost guaranteed to 2hko with Stealth Rock support. However, Misdreavus can ohko non-eviolite versions with psychic and has a shot to ohko with hidden power fighting after stealth rock, and it also outspeeds. Eviolite Minihawk is solidly 2hkoed by hidden power fighting (56% minimum).

Defensive: Timid; 196 HP, 40 Def, 76 SpA, 116 SpD, 76 Spe; Accounts for a 30 Defense IV for Hidden Power Ice, but it doesn't affect the actual stats (it has enough leftover evs). 25/9/14/14/14/15 Stats, giving it 25/21/21 defenses after Eviolite is applied. The defenses are similar to Bulky Misdreavus (24/21/22 after Eviolite, assuming a spread with max speed), however, it doesn't have Will-o-Wisp, its immunity is far less useful than any of Misdreavus', and its offenses and speed are all lower. Additionally, its weaknesses are way more easily accessable than Misdreavus', so while its defenses are solid, they will be far from unbreakable.

Timburr Drain Punch - 18-21 - Doesn't quite ko, but it underspeeds you and can heal off any damage you do to it. Mach Punch ohkoes next turn.

Taillow Brave Bird before Guts - 23-27 - An example of a revenge killer, and a weak one at that.

Timid Scarf Chinchou Hydro Pump - 11-13 - A shot at a 2hko. Modest 2hkoes most of the time.

Minihawk lacks coverage moves or stat up moves, and can't abuse status. It has a glaring weakness to fighting attacks, the best and most common type in Little Cup. Though it has a great ability in Prankster, it can't effectively use it, as it then loses coverage against ghosts. To compensate for its shortfalls, I gave it enough SpA so that it can hit a lot of stuff pretty hard and enough bulk to live a hit or two, while still remaining counterable/checkable. The abundance of fighting types and its good, not great speed means that it won't be sweeping anything any time soon, as it is easy to revenge and even with perfect prediction is has effective counters.